Red Flash men drop NEC opener

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Saint Francis dropped its Northeast Conference opener, 79-67, to Sacred Heart in men’s basketball action on Thursday afternoon.

Cam Gregory and Ace Talbert paced the Red Flash, who fell to 5-9 and 0-1 in the NEC, with 14 points each. Teammate Eli Wilborn returned to his home state for the first time and registered 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Sacred Heart jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game. They grabbed as large as a 24-point lead with 2:55 left in the first half, thanks to the Pioneers using 16 first-half turnovers by Saint Francis and turned them into 18 points.

“We dug ourselves too deep of a hole in the first half against a talented and experienced team on their own court by turning the ball over 16 times. We were able to settle down in the second half and executed much more efficiently on both ends,” SFU coach Rob Krimmel said. “There is a different level of urgency that conference games are played. It’s a tough lesson to learn but one they needed to experience for us to continue to grow as a team. I’m looking forward to seeing how we respond on Saturday.”

The Red Flash cut the margin to seven points in the second half but could get no closer in the NEC lid-lifter.

Down 45-22, the Frankies used a 30-14 run to trim the margin to 59-52 with 11:19 left in the final frame.

The Pioneers retook a double-figure lead, but with the home team holding a 65-52 lead, Talbert and Wilborn both recorded baskets to cut the margin to 65-57 with 8:19 remaining. Wilborn also trimmed the margin to single digits for the final time on a layup with 54 seconds left.

Sacred Heart (7-9, NEC 1-0) got 18 points from Nico Galette and 17 points from Alex Sobel.

The Red Flash return to action on Saturday at Wagner. Game time is 1 p.m.

ST. FRANCIS (67): Harris 2-3 0-0 4, Wilborn 4-5 4-6 12, Gregory 5-13 2-4 14, Rosenberger 4-12 0-0 9, Talbert 4-7 3-6 14, Lopez 3-6 0-0 7, Liberis 1-2 0-0 2, Webb 2-2 1-1 5, Sanon 0-1 0-0 0, Moncrief 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 10-17 67.

SACRED HEART (79): Sobel 7-11 3-4 17, Carpenter 1-6 0-0 2, Galette 7-15 3-6 18, McGee 1-3 2-3 5, McGuire 2-3 1-2 5, Reilly 7-10 3-3 19, Espinal-Guzman 3-4 1-2 7, Solomon 2-4 0-0 6, Sixsmith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 13-20 79.

Halftime–Sacred Heart 45-26. 3-Point Goals–St. Francis 7-21 (Talbert 3-5, Gregory 2-5, Lopez 1-3, Rosenberger 1-8), Sacred Heart 6-17 (Solomon 2-3, Reilly 2-5, McGee 1-2, Galette 1-3, Sixsmith 0-1, Carpenter 0-3). Rebounds–St. Francis 32 (Wilborn 11), Sacred Heart 20 (Sobel 5). Assists–St. Francis 12 (Rosenberger 5), Sacred Heart 12 (Sobel, Carpenter 3). Total Fouls–St. Francis 18, Sacred Heart 14. A–2,000